Frenchwoman Marcelle in Tenterfield attempting to hitch a ride to Tamworth. Earlier in the day Marcelle and her race teammate, Nicole, caught a ride from Byron Bay to Casino with Casino woman Fiona O’Halloran and her two daughters.

The Tenterfield Star A LITTLE bit of France came to the Northern Rivers last week when the French version of The Amazing Race television show made its way through the region from Byron Bay across to Casino and on to Tenterfield and Tamworth.

Local woman Fiona O'Halloran and her two daughters were spending the day in Byron Bay on the weekend when a commotion on Clarkes Beach set locals abuzz.

"We were told by onlookers that it was the French version of The Amazing Race called Peking Express, she said.

Ms O'Halloran and her children, Molly, 15 and Megan, 11, were walking back to their Nissan Pathfinder at the Clarkes Beach car park when two of the female contestants approached them with a cameraman and asked them for a lift to Casino.

"We thought it was pretty exciting," she said. "I work in Casino; it was the first time I was driving our new car and so we offered them a ride."

"Apparently there was some confusion as the contestants thought they were looking for an actual casino rather than the town."

During the trip to Casino, the two women, Marcelle and Nicole, told Ms O'Halloran that they had been on the show before and this program was like a grand final with all the competitors who had won previous programs.

The theme of the show, Peking Express, is similar to The Amazing Race.

Various couples have to deal with the challenges of long distance hitchhiking in a strange country and trying to communi- cate in a language other than their own.

The group led a cavalcade of about seven cars carrying the other contestants from Byron Bay to Casino.

"I was surprised no-one overtook us, but I think they thought I knew where I was going so the other contestants stayed behind our car the whole way to Casino where we dropped them on the outskirts of town," she said.

"It was all a bit frantic as they scrambled to find rides onward from Casino."

"We gave them kisses and they were all very grateful. We felt like celebrities for a day."

Pardonnez-moi,MARIE LOW08 Feb, 2012 04:32 AMCONTESTANT on the French version of reality television show The Amazing Race Marcelle looked a little confused when she approached this man for a lift to Glen Innes when her team went through Tenterfield on Monday.Marcelle’s team was one of a number that passed through the shire on their way to Tamworth.

The competition pits teams of two against each other to make their way around the world the fastest.

The NSW State Emergency Service has slammed the producers of the French version of The Amazing Race after contestants were sent into flooded areas of NSW ignorant of the dangers and without notifying local authorities.

Here's a link below that shows road closures in New South Wales. It makes it clear that open roads in and out of the area are limited. If they have gone to Lightning Ridge, they may be stuck for a while. I don't know what roads were open 24-36 hours ago, but right now the path looks open from Gunnedah to Sydney. Too bad they didn't stay there.

Also, here's an announcement from the New South Wales government that states that some communities (including Lightning Ridge) may be isolated for weeks. Goodooga is well to the northwest of where the teams were seen, while Lightning Ridge and Walgett were in the general area that at least one team was trying to get to.

Stock up Now Says NSW SES as Towns Prepare for Isolation7 February 2012, 6:30PM AET

The towns of Lightning Ridge (4,000 people), Walgett (!,700 people) and Goodooga (250 people) are all facing weeks of isolation, commencing from around this weekend. In the case of Lightning Ridge and Walgett it is likely to be around 2 weeks but could be longer. For Goodooga it is probable that the community is going to remain cut off for up to 8 weeks.

The NSW SES is asking residents to ensure that they complete urgent medical appointments before isolation and stock up on essentials and other items not normally able to be sourced locally. The NSW SES will help to resupply these towns during their isolation and move people if there is a medical emergency.

For assistance call the NSW SES on 132 500. If you are isolated and need resupply, call 132 500 to arrange the ordering and delivery of food and other essentials.

The really sad thing about all of this (besides the hardships the people of the area are experiencing) is that this had been developing for several days and the flooding was well underway before they ever left the Philippines. What were they thinking?

OK, I found some tweets that suggest that at least one and perhaps two teams have gotten south and out of the flooded area.

Rachel @rarticalsistaHad the French Amazing Race cast in town today. Of all the places in this world, this ****ing town. I was stuck in class. Damnit!54 min ago

Rachel is in Dubbo, NSW Australia which is south of the flooded area and 303 km (188 mi) northwest of Sydney (400 km/249 mi by road). Dubbo is considered the cross-roads of New South Wales. It is linked by national highways north to Brisbane, south to Melbourne, east to Sydney and Newcastle, and west to Broken Hill and Adelaide. Info mostly from Wikipedia.

Then there are these tweets from what appears to be a local town council:

Narromine @NarromineAccommodation and meal needed for one night for a male Belgian contestant in the French Amazing Race. Please call Sally on <phone number removed>2 hrs ago

Narromine is 40 km west of Dubbo and Nyngan is 167 km northwest of Dubbo. So they are headed away from Sydney. Wikipedia indicates little of interest in Nyngan. It is on the highway to Broken Hill though a long way from there (588 km). Just throwing out some speculation. Probably unlikely, because if they are headed to Sydney as expected, they would have to go all the way back past where they are now.

Filming of a French reality show in rural New South Wales this week hit a road block they didn’t expect: floods.

14 teams on Pekin Express, similar to The Amazing Race, were racing towards an overnight pit stop at Lightning Ridge, unaware of road closures and flash flooding.

SES officials who were forced to redirect the series and battle with competitors who ”would not take no for an answer when told about the risks”.

News Limited reports a French pair burst into the Gunnedah Tourist Information Centre yesterday, demanding urgent directions and causing chaos for staff. All making perfect drama for the cameras, presumably.

The 45 day race sees contestants competing with just one euro per day per person, with a prize of 100,000 Euro. Contestants, who are allowed to hitch-hike between stops, were also begging for lifts from locals.

So far the teams have raced through Eumundi, Noosa, Byron Bay and Tamworth.

In Tenterfield one local said, “They were in an awful panic but it only took them about 10 minutes to flag down another car to take them on to Tamworth.”

In Casino another local added, “Apparently there was some confusion as the contestants thought they were looking for an actual casino rather than the town.”

The local Lightning Ridge mayor reckons if the teams made it they were likely to be trapped.

“They might have to be in Walgett or Lightning Ridge for some time,” Gustavus Murray said.

But the pressure is on for seasoned racers, all of whom have raced in previous editions, with Australia to include their final pit-stop.

CONTESTANTS in a French version of The Amazing Race have run into trouble with SES officials who were forced to redirect the series as it tracked straight into flood-ravaged parts of NSW.

Gunnedah tourism officials were the first to raise concerns about up to 14 teams on Pekin Express, racing towards an overnight pit stop at Lightning Ridge, unaware of road closures and flash flooding dangers along the way.

A French pair, with camera crew in tow, burst into the Gunnedah Tourist Information Centre early yesterday, demanding urgent directions and creating "chaos" for the surprised staff.

Belinda Hockings, Gunnedah Shire's tourism and marketing manager, said the frantic visitors had no idea about the state's flood emergency and "would not take no for an answer when told about the risks".

Locals also complained to police and council after being flagged down and begged for lifts by the competitors, who are allowed to travel between stages of the 10,000km race only by hitch-hiking.

SES controller Kathleen Cain was critical of the show's producers, who failed to alert local authorities or warn contestants about the emergency flood conditions.

"For the team I saw, I was sending them away from the waters," Ms Cain told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"But for the rest, I have fears the direct route is through the greatest flooded areas of my region.

"We have a lot of closures and water currents running over the roads. If you got into an undercurrent, it could sweep you away."

Another team, Belgian brothers Ludovic and Samuel Daxhelet, were in luck, being helped along by tourism officials from Coonabarabran, Baradine and Coonamble who drove them around the flooding to Lightning Ridge.

But the dramas may not end there. With Lightning Ridge and nearby Walgett bracing for floods to peak at the weekend, mayor Gustavus Murray said if the teams made it they were likely to be trapped."They might have to be in Walgett or Lightning Ridge for some time," Mr Murray said.

The race, with favourites from six series, began in South Korea last month, has moved through the Philippines and is expected to finish in Australia.

Narromine @NarromineA Big Thank You to all who helped, Ludovick from the Pekin Express show has made it to Nyngan! His goal is Bourke today.3 hrs ago

Bourke is off to the Northwest of Nyngan, which is northwest of Narromine. Ludovic is almost back to being as far north as Lightning Ridge, but further to the west. They are going completely in the opposite direction away from Sydney which we've heard was the final location. I don't have any idea where they could be going. There's a dirt highway that heads west and then south through deep desert like outback and has some ranching stations that could be visited. The highway to Bourke continues north into Queensland and I'm not sure what they could be planning to do up there.

Found a Facebook post from someone who saw Pekin Express filming in Bourke. I hope he isn't right about what they are doing.

<Witness>Haha the french is shooting an amazing race in bourke and coz it was flooding they actually set up a tent and filmed the 1s scene in the motel where i stay and said it was a national park what wanks lolShare · about an hour ago via mobile ·

3 people like this.

<Friend 1> Haha just standibg on the varendah with the trees in the background lol about an hour ago

Hi Plaidmoon, i like your pots, there are always instructives. I think there is two possibilities for Ludovic and Samuel, there are blocked by the flood-ravaged and have to circumvent the flooding zone or the course was changed by the pekin Express production because of the flood-ravaged and they going now to Bourke and the national park before to go back to Sydney... what do you think about that?

TAKE a bunch of crazy French reality TV types, add a Chinese connection, plus a watching audience of four million people in Europe, and you get the Peking Express.

This Franco-centric cable hit television series - a spin-off from a Chinese series that challenges couples to race one another, much like The Amazing Race - made a station stop at Noosa Main Beach on Saturday.

And this express had all the bells and whistles that go with filming a naked desire to win mixed with wanderlust.

One of the features of the television shoot - apart from Noosa's intoxicating beach beauty - was the star power of Noosa Longboards' woody van.

According to Peter Cullen, of Noosa Longboards, it was the woody that caught the eye of the Peking Express producers and convinced them to do a Noosa shoot.

Peter said he was not sure at first what to make of these French people asking him in broken English to join their planned adventure.

As it turned out, the shop is not only providing the woody and some boards for the competing teams to have a crack at the Laguna Bay surf, but also providing a large part of the challenge.

"After they film the boards in the surf, the teams all have to hitchhike to Sydney with the longboards under their arms, so it should be quite interesting," Peter said.

"The woody first attracted their attention and although they usually don't allow advertising (as in product placement) in the show, they love the van so much they are going to feature it.

"It means Noosa Longboards is going to be screened into the homes of four million viewers - I'm not sure if Noosa has ever been shown to an audience as large as that, all watching at the same time."

The show is beamed out to M6 TV and is hosted by one of France's most popular television personalities Stephane Rotenberg.

The blurb for the Peking Express says: "The show demonstrates how various couples deal with challenges and pitfalls of a long-distance hitchhike in a strange city".

And Peter, before the crew and contestants' arrival Saturday morning, was thinking of making their road to Sydney that extra-challenging by offering them all plank-size longboards.

Lightning Ridge was busy this week with more than 60 members and challengers of the production the Amazing Race, French version “Pekin Express”, TV program.The theme of the show is to demonstrate how various couples deal with the challenges and pitfalls of attempting a long-distance hitchhike to a strange city, together with all the difficulties presented by trying to communicate in a language they don’t understand.

Tension was added by including couples who had broken up “in real life”, but were willing to work together for the sake of winning the race.

Before arriving at the Ridge, the competitors were to hitchhike from Coonamble.

The group spent Tuesday and Wednesday filming at the Bore Baths, Walk in Mine, and the old church at the Four Mile before moving onto Bourke.

In somewhat similar fashion to The Amazing Race, couples that come in last at various checkpoints along the way are eliminated.

For those that don't know - Peking Express is a reality TV show very much like the Amazing Race. Contestants travel the globe taking on difficult challenges in the hope that they are not eliminated. Last couple standing win a million bucks !The producers of the show loved our Woody and wanted to include a challenge for the contestants that would see them hitch hiking from Noosa to Brisbane with one of our boards and no cash in their pockets.

Pekin Express appears to have completed their slow speed chase across Eastern Australia and reached the finish line about 10-12 hours ago. I have a couple of sightings in the Sydney area.

From Facebook:

<Witness 1>Amazing race at Circular Quay! At Cruise Bar and the frenchies asked where Botanical gardens were? I pointed, then they asked best way to get there. I said swim :-) They didn't unfortunately but definitely was caught on camera. Might have to watch the show now :-)11 hours ago near Sydney, New South Wales ·

<Witness 2> I think they were in bondi too. I had a girl coming to my car when i was driving with a guy with a camera behind. Unfortunately my first instinct was to close the windows quickly, probably from having to do this while in Brasil :-S about an hour ago

From Twitter:

Sonny Joe Flanagan @sonnyjoeflanganWow I just got on the american Amazing race! Two guys were running through Bondi scramming at ppl they need a car to win a million dollars11 hrs ago

Sonny Joe Flanagan @sonnyjoeflanganIt was the grand final last desternation australia and we just helped them to find a car to get to the final flag! Sooooo much fun11hrs ago

I just tried looking in on a webcam at Bondi Beach, but I don't see anything unusual happening. Not surprising, since it's about 10:45 AM in Sydney and from the sightings, they would have been there late in the previous evening. I don't see anyway to look backwards on the cam, so I can't see what the last images from yesterday were.

I've asked the guy on Twitter for more information, but he's a comedian with over 6,600 followers, so I'm not real hopeful about a reply.

So this means that Ludovic & Samuel and probably Marcelle & Nicole (2 French girls) are the final 2!!

I had figured out the team with 2 women, but I hadn't been able to decide which 2 male team that was. I'm glad someone else could tell which team was in the photo. The quality wasn't the best.

I have some mild concerns about the sighting with the two French girls. This woman has an astounding knack for meeting famous people in the music business (she also mentioned meeting Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones earlier this week), so I wonder slightly if she's making it up. However, she did post a picture from 2010 of her with Whitney Houston that looks genuine so I'm tending to believe her. Besides, who is Australia would make up a completely accurate sounding story about picking up a team from the French Amazing Race and driving them around Sydney?

I have some mild concerns about the sighting with the two French girls. This woman has an astounding knack for meeting famous people in the music business (she also mentioned meeting Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones earlier this week), so I wonder slightly if she's making it up. However, she did post a picture from 2010 of her with Whitney Houston that looks genuine so I'm tending to believe her. Besides, who is Australia would make up a completely accurate sounding story about picking up a team from the French Amazing Race and driving them around Sydney?